el jefe

STUNNING 944 HARLEQUIN CONVERSION ADVERTISED ON BEHALF OF AN ELDERLY FRIEND WHO DOESN'T HAVE INTERNET ACCESSTHIS IS PART OF HIS PRIVATE COLLECTION FOR MORE INFO CALL NICK ON 01457 856595IMMACULATE THROUGHOUTFULL MULTI COLOURED LEATHER INTERIORPICTURES DO NOT DO THIS CAR JUSTICE ALL BELTS DONE MARCH 20135 SPEED MODELSOME HISTORY + MOT JUNE 2015VERY ATTENTION GRABBING CAR RUNS MINT, ELECTRIC WINDOWS, SUNROOF, NO P.A.S

there's a good reason why the Mk III VW Golf Harlequin sat in the few dealerships that carried them...no one was really feeling it which explains why they finally decided that the only way to be rid of such a horrid specimen was to sell them at a steep discount. only 280 or so were made and I would've pinned down exactly what the point of their existence was, but I simply didn't give a fig as this wasn't to be of importance here.

the idea went something like this; the car's monocoque chassis would be one of four dominant colors consisting of red, green, blue, and yellow and they were to share each other's body panels to create what you see here. the mid 90's, as evident in Porsche's color pallette, was a time when such vibrant colors worked and thus bought by a salivating public bold enough to be seen in shades fit for jelly beans. times were good, the economy was strong, and we had a lecherous President with a penchant for being fellated by interns playing hiding and seek under the desk, so I'm not sure why the Harlequin concept didn't work...come to think of it, I'm not sure it would've worked in the Psychedelic 60's—it looks rather amateur in its execution.

so when I found a 944 done in such a scheme, I reconsidered my distaste for anything on wheels slathered with mismatched panels because here was a car that for all intents and purposes could very well pull it off. why? primarily because Porsches tend to attract eccentric intellectuals, and secondly because a Porsche is ready to race and a car ready to race is expected to have some sort of interesting livery, one only has to remember the 917s dressed in psychedelia and butcher cuts.

the owner of this 944 certainly put loads of effort into his jester-like creation sparing neither expense or labor it seem as even the seats were treated in like—why he stopped short on bolting in a MOMO Benetton F1 steering wheel is beyond me as that would have been the cheery atop the cake.

I'm not sure if it sold as the listing ended on ebay's UK site, but if it did, I'm sure the new owner is the sort of character I'd like to have a pint with. it's not a car for everyone, but rest assured it will have a clear division of likes and dislikes with very little neutrality. interesting, the Harlequin Golf is now highly sought after complete with a website dedicated their registry, not surprising since nostalgia has a funny way of effect pop culture (the game Simon may also gain lost popularity). could this mean a new following for this sort of scheme might blossom and infect into the for-now affordable Porsches? keep an eye out.